Not a nice experience over the weekend: 5am Saturday morning and so tired that one handle of Tom’s Moses basket slipped completely out of my hand before I could stop it...
The result was that Tom was ejected to the floor in a manner that he really didn’t like at all and Karen and I had our hearts in our mouths for a good hour afterwards. Thankfully we were very lucky. We tend to carry the basket low to the floor anyway so as it was Tom didn’t suffer any kind of drop – he basically was just rolled sideways out of the basket and onto his back on the carpet.
He certainly cried about it but it was mostly shock and surprise and was soon smiling, cooing and feeding again as normal.
I, however, felt awful – really shitty – and just had to hold Tom close to me for a while to make sure he was ok, followed by Karen doing the same. Instinctive reaction I guess.
We both know that such accidents are actually quite commonplace – all of my friends with babies have experienced such incidents at one time or another – but it’s unpalatable when it happens to you.
The only good thing about it is that it’s made us be extra careful when manoeuvring Tom around in his basket since then... especially in the small hours of the morning.
On a lighter note Tom is displaying a definite sense of humour – loads of laughs and bubbly giggles – and a definite interest in the world around him. He also likes having his face stroked.
Just like his old man!
24 comments:
I was dropped on my head repeatedly as a baby and it never did me any harm.
Did it, Norman?
Oh, don't mind Norman, he's just my imaginary friend.
Norman - put that DOWN!!!
Curses... now my guilt-chip has reached overload...!
Sounds like you had a worse shock than the baby, Steve!
Don't be so hard on yourself. :-)
Certainly Tom seems to have long forgotten about it and, in fact, had "moved on" within minutes... I guess I'm far less forgiving of myself...
We are always less forgiving of ourselves.
When my now 12 yr old was about 5 mths old, she rolled off a couch and hit the floor. I was devastated , not only had she rolled over and fallen but I wasn't even aware she could roll over! However, as luck would have it (love that awful expression) my Dad's dcotor was visiting at the time (Dad dying of cancer at the time) and the Doc gave her a once over and declared all was as it should be and not to worry. His theory, and I am cautious about any medical training to back it up, is that if you're going to fall at all you're better off being either very drunk or a baby 'cos they seem to "bounce" better!
Ai yah!
My aunt dropped me from a great height on my head as a baby, it did no harm.
Im now prime minister of some obscure Island off the coast of France .
Anybody want to buy some gold for $300 an oz?
Steve, this must be a magical time for both you and your wife, first Christmas with your son.
I envy you ,
In a good way (+:
Sadly too true Casdok... I guess I we ought to learn to give ourselves a break sometimes!
Amanda, in the cold light of day I think the doctor was right. I think babies form so much padding around themselves precisely to protect them from knocks and bumps. And to make themselves look darn cute too.
Hitch, it is magical - thank you. Tom won't know that it's Christmas or even care of course but for Karen, Ben and me it's going to be something very special indeed.
you will forget all about it when he rolls his bike in the sticker bushes time and time again while riding his bike without training wheels...just don't laugh so hard you start crying...apparently that is quite offensive to young ones...:)
Daisy, I'm quite looking forward to it though at the moment I'm content to watch him bat the mobiles on his carry chair around...!
See it as character building Or preparation for a career in something like rugby!
It must be to do with my career as a nurse but my girls say that when they were growing up I was always very nonchalant when it came to all their bruises and cuts and scrapes.It seemed like we lived in casualty at one point, Ariel, Fiona and Belle had the most breaks whilst SnoWhite was definitely the most accident prone!
SnoWhite has a scar on her chest from a gravel scrape from when she was about 7, it looks like she has had open heart surgery- it is a keloid scar. Scar comparing is like an Olympic sport in our family, a bit like Rennee Russeau and Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon.
I find that parents worry more about accidents than the children,you sound like you are doing a grand job.
Sage words - thank you Ally, much appreciated!
Kids are really bouncy, our first slipped out of her high chair and onto the floor when she was tiny, we shit ourselves but it's more shock than the baby actually getting hurt.
Andrew, I think you're right. A week on and I feel much better about it all. Not happy that it happened, of course, but Tom is fine and it could have been so much worse. Be thankful for small mercies as they say...
Tom's in good company if you're carrying him in a basket - it never ultimately did Moses any harm.
Thanks Matthew... not sure about Tom presenting me with 10 commandments though...!
I did something very similar when my first baby was really small. I was leaning over the moses basket cooing at my new baby. Still carrying ALOT of extra baby weight the rope holding the stand together snapped and down went baby, me landing almost on top of her. luckily my arms were already out infront to stop me going down full pelt too. Lucklit no damage done. happens to the best, most cautious of us.
A Muse Inner Me: it does indeed, and the best of us feel shitty about it for days afterwards! I still cringe looking back on it even now!
Yip - I can tick this box too, god I really AM a bad mummy. The worst thing I ever did was when I was trying to cut little L's nails when she was 10 weeks old and I caught the skin of her thumb in the clippers. I can still here the squelch of the skin now. I think I cried for a whole day after it and I haven't cut her nails since (she's 14 months now)
Musings of a Mother: I can sympathise... I've done nothing so graphic with the clippers but I have occasionally cut the nail too far back, forgetting how sensitive toddlers fingers are. Even now he's wary and only allows me to do a few at a time; I find if I cut my own in front of him it piques his interest.
I too dropped my eldest (well she rolled off the bed while I was having wee) when she was young. I also fell down MIL's stairs when she was in my arms.
She is fine - me I can still see those stars now!
BNM: you know, I'm starting to think that the riskiest part of anyone's life is childhood...! ;-)
A friend of mine's daughter had just come out of hospital after a serious illness, aged only a few months.
A friend came to visit. Threw her in the air in a jocular fashion.
She hit the ceiling... You can imagine the precise mixture of horror and embarrassment, I am sure...
Theodora: aaargh! That story has really set my teeth on edge. If I'd done it I think I would have dug a hole for myself and dived right in...
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